Puzzle.



No. 723,120; PATENTED AR. 17; 1903.

- J. L. ADAMS.

PUZZLE.

APPLIOATION FILED AUG. 31. 1901.

H0 MODEL.

I INVENTOR:

QWITNESSES:

i UNITED STATES ATENT JOHN L. ADAMS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PUZZLE.-

SPEGIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 723,120, dated March 171903. Application filed August 31, 1901. Serial No. 73,947. (No model.)

of Manhattan, city, county, and State of New York, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Puzzles, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention aims to provide a new puzzle which is attractive andentertaining and which may be at the same time cheaply constructed andadapted for packing in a compact shape.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, illustrating an embodiment of myinvention, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a complete puzzle embodyingmy invention. Fig. 2 is a diametral section of the same. Fig. 3 isadetail view of a modification.

The principal elements of my puzzle are one or more balls, which arecarried in a receptacle, and a hook'arranged to swing above the floor ofthe receptacle to engage the ball in .fish, the ball having aperturesinto which the hook enters. I may also provide a plurality of hooks anda plurality of balls in one puzzle.

Referring to the drawings, the receptacle is preferably a shallow roundbox having a fioorA and a rim B projecting upward around the edge of thefloor, these parts being preferably made of wood, cardboard, or thelike. Their exact formmay be varied within the widest range withoutafiecting the operation of the device or the nature of the invention.Preferably the exposed face of the bottom A is printed, as shown, inimitation of a man fishing, with any suitable legend. underneath inorder to explain the puzzle and to-add to its attractiveness. On thefloor of the receptacle are one or moreballs 0, representing fishes, andwhich may, in fact, be painted in imitation of the head' of a fish, asshown in Fig. 1. I provide each of the balls with central apertures Dfor engagement by the hook. By providing three apertures D at rightangles to each other and each passing entirely through the ball, asshown in Fig. 2, there are provided six points at which the hook mayengage the ball, so that the puzzle is rendered sufficiently easy ofsolution to prevent its being unduly tiresome. These apertures alsoassist in the operation by producing small flat faces at which the ballwill rest on the floor, so that the hook may be swung slightly by thelateral movement of the floor without causing the balls to move at thesame time. The hook is preferably a wire E, having its lower end F benttofa horizontal position and preferably, also, being double and havingthe two ends F extending in opposite directions, as shown. in Fig. 2,to-form practically two hooks. It may be suspended by a thread G, whichpermits rotation on a vertical axis, and also swing in any lateraldirection, so as to engage the ball in whatever position it may lie. Thesup port H from which the hook is suspended is preferably an inclinedpost tapered on the lower end J to enter a hole K in the bottom Act thereceptacle. Any other separable means of connecting it to the receptaclemay of course be substituted for that shown.

In transporting the puzzle the post may be withdrawn out of the socket Kand laid on the bottom of the receptacle, so that'the entire puzzleoccupies no more room than is taken up by the receptacle, the length ofthe post being made less than the diameter of the receptacle for thispurpose.

Though I have described in detail the elements of the puzzle embodyingmy invention, yet it is to be understood that my invention is notlimited to the particular details specified. Various modifications willreadily suggest themselves to the constructor, which do not involve adeparture from the invention. For example, it might be made adjustablein height, so as to set it at just the height necessary for facilitatingthe solving of the puzzle. This adjustment is possible with a thread G,which may be wound about the upper end of the support H until thedesired length is secured and then passed down through the notch K; buta preferable mode of providing for this adjustment might be by the useof a ICC ball. The receptacle is then tilted in such a way that thepoint of support of the ball moves downward and the ball rests on thehook and is lifted from the floor.

The puzzle may also be simplified by providing a flat piece P on thebottom of the hall as shown in Fig. 2, whereby it rests more firmly onthe bottom of the receptacle. This fiat piece P may be used, of course,either with or withoutthe vertical aperture D shown.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim is In a puzzle thecombination of areceptacle, a ball in said receptacle apertured alongthree perpendicular diameters whereby fiat faces are formed upon whichsaid ball rests with two of said apertures horizontaL and a hooksuspended vertically below a point of support and arranged to swingabove the floor of said receptacle, and to enter one of the horizontalapertures of said ball.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

. JOHN L. ADAMS.

Witnesses:

DOMINGO A. UsINA, FRED WHITE.

